Residents voted 183-50 to approve a new $20 fine against public swearing, with police able to issue tickets for the alleged offense. Mind you, there was already a law against public profanity in Marlborough that’s been on the books since 1968. But no one ever enforced that rule because it required pursuing a criminal case against the potty-mouth perpetrator.

Soon it’ll be a lot cheaper to openly carry pot in New York, but for smoking it in public, take it to Massachusetts. As Cuomo said of smoking a joint in public, “I believe the society does want to discourage the use of marijuana in public, on the street. Smoking a joint, I think, is a different level of activity than just being in possession of it,” he said.

The problem with all of this is the abuse of the legal code. This is social engineering using law books as a bludgeon.

If the town of Marlborough and the state of New York don’t like punishing people for marijuana, politicians should do the right thing and decriminalize it, period.

If the folks in Marlborough don’t like people swearing in public, then just tell those who are doing it to pipe down. Why do you need a law or a fine? Is the only way to change behavior we don’t like to call a cop? And if having pot isn’t a crime to Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Cuomo, why don’t they just show some real courage and decriminalize it, and then go ahead and regulate and tax the hell out of it. They could collect a lot more for police and city coffers with taxes than with fines.